Don’t be fooled by the BlackBerry Pearl 3G’s pared down keyboard: RIMs’ smart SureType software means it predicts words as you type for speedy messaging, helping you track down your friends at a jam packed music festival in next to no time. For serious power use though, there are some crafty keyboard shortcuts you can make use of too: combine them together, and the BlackBerry Pearl 3G becomes the ultimate messaging phone to take with you, as our guide will show you.
Master your email
Just about every button on the BlackBerry Pearl 3G has a secret second function in your email and message inbox. To open and reply to a message or chat window, just tap the 7 key, or forward a must see band tip on to your friends with a push of numero 9. If the unread messages have been mounting up, you can prod 5 to skip to the next unopened message, or use 4 and 6 to skip back and forth between days, then jump back to the top of the pile with a press of 2. Since the BlackBerry inbox sucks in BlackBerry Messenger and Facebook and Twitter messages too, you’ll be able to cycle through all you conversations this way, no matter what social network you’re using to keep in touch on site.
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Turbo tweet
With Twitter on your BlackBerry Pearl 3G smartphone, it’s easy to stay in touch with all your followers, and see what’s buzzing at any festival at any time, from Womad to The Secret Garden Party, Reading to, err, Leeds, but you can turbo boost your way through all those DMs and @replies by mastering a few quick key commands too. To skim quickly down your Twitter stream, just press 0 to move to the next screen of unread tweets, and press 1 on any message to reply – Twitter on the BlackBerry Pearl 3G will automatically fill in any usernames it mentions for you, so you can Reply To All this way too. Nudging 9 will retweet an essential band tip to your followers, and when you’re done, 5 will refresh your stream so you can see the latest from everyone you’re following.
Speed dial on the double
Day to day, the best way to pull up friend’s number is just to start typing their name in, and watch as the BlackBerry Pearl 3G whittles down the list of possible contacts on the fly. Let’s face it though: for a long weekend festival, you’re going to be calling the people you’re sharing a tent and toilet roll with the most, even if it’s a quick “Where are you?” Best set your bezzie mates as speed dials you can launch from the home screen then: to assign someone, just hold down a number and choose the contact from the drop down list. If you’ve got several numbers for them, not to worry, as you can choose which each rings. Then just make that call and get back to the action.
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